On the run for decades, military fugitive arrested in South Florida

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — Authorities say a military fugitive who escaped federal custody more than three decades ago has been captured in South Florida.

The U.S. Marshals Service reports that 59-year-old James Robert Jones was arrested Thursday morning when he showed up for work in Pompano Beach.

Jones had been listed as one of the U.S. Army's 15 Most Wanted for escaping from a federal prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in 1977. As a private in 1974, Jones was sentenced to 23 years in prison for premeditated murder and aggravated assault.

Authorities say Jones obtained a fraudulent Florida driver's license in 1981 and used the name Bruce Walter Keith. He had been living at a home in Deerfield Beach since at least 2005.

In January, the Army requested assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service in finding Jones.